Finding your people and yourself, travelling to beautiful places, returning to places you left. Those are recurring themes in my own work, and they all come together in this stunner. The Secrets of Willow Bay will make you laugh and cry. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but one I feel lucky to have been on.
The blurb
Twenty-five years ago, Joanna Johnson fled her hometown of Rivers End, leaving behind her best friend, her first love, and a dark secret. When a mysterious letter arrives, she’s forced to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget…
Returning to the picturesque coastal town, Joanna is drawn back into the world she left behind. Walking along the sandy stretch of beach below her aunt’s cottage in Willow Bay, the memories come flooding back of all the dreams she cherished until betrayal and a stormy night at sea tore them apart. When she runs into her first love, Lucas, now a single father, Joanna feels a spark between them once more. Can she dare to rekindle a relationship she thought lost forever?
When pieces of an old shipwreck begin washing ashore, the answer might be made for her… As the yacht surfaces, bringing Joanna’s secrets with it, can she find the courage to trust Lucas with the truth about the night she ran? Or will holding on to the past force her to leave Rivers End behind once again…?
Colourful
I could almost taste the salt in the air and nearly felt a spider land on my shoulders while reading this book. Phillipa Nefri Clark’s descriptions are vivid and on point. I wouldn’t mind a trip to Willow Bay and definitely got the Australian summer vibe that I experienced on my own travels to Victoria and Queensland.
What most intrigued me was the theme of bold choices taken in certainty, and returning decades later to find out that shake that certainty. The author deals with this in a colourful and brave way, no black-and-whites here. I love that, tied with the fact Joanna does not at all want to revisit her choices.
Heartwrenching and optimistic
I also wouldn’t mind living in the cottage where Joanna stayed (minus before mentioned spiders). The coziness sparks off the pages, but it all fits and serves the story, that is heartwrenching and optimistic at the same time. Because those choices that led Joanna away, also led to beautiful events that otherwise would not have happened. I love that, too! And isn’t that just life?
The Secrets of Willow Bay is the first book I read by Philippa Nefri Clark, but it certainly won’t be my last. Thank you, Storm Publishing for providing The Secrets of Willow Bay for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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Here’s a review by the Australian author, John Heyworth:
Wilma’s Tulip Field Days by Kirsten Bett is an eloquent and delightful story, that opens with description of farm life through the eyes of a cat, Tulpie – almost a play on words from a flower we know and love known as a Tulip. Tulpie is the mother who keeps a watchful eye on her three kittens as she continues her important work on the farm by keeping the mouse population at bay – a job that endears her to Old Pete the farmer who has a love of cats. All is relatively calm and serene until the mysterious Stragna Woman appears on the scene. Who is she and why is she appearing at all is all part of the mystery of the narrative, interspersed not only with the history and significance of Tulips, and the connections to Holland and farm life in Spain but also the centuries old reverence for the cat; ‘ Many cultures see them as symbols of good luck, protection and wisdom. According to ancient beliefs, tabby cats are bringers of joy, happiness, and luck.’ Stragna Woman seems to have her eyes on the kittens, especially one in particular. ‘In the near full moonlight, Stragna Woman’s eyes gleam as she fixes her gaze on kitten number three.’ Are the kittens safe?Can Tulpie, their mother, keep watch over them all, especially kitten number three? What is the significance of this kitten? This is an engrossing tale of a kitten’s adventure, but you don’t have to be a cat or a Tulip lover to enjoy this book Highly recommended!
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